Story of a liberty shirt

After two depressing failures, I needed some sure bet to sew in order to rebuild my self-esteem. So I got into my Liberty Treasure Chest and took out my swatch of the classic and delicate Katie and Millie (version D). It is such a sweet pattern that it even hurts to put it to the scissors.

All You Need is...

The sound of music

By the end of this post you would understand the reason for this title.

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Liberty Love

Considering the many assets of the Liberty of London fabrics, the fact that this summer 2015 we limited our shopping spree to just 7, is praiseworthy.

That our infatuation with them has dragged a very dear friend into getting some as well at the risk of becoming another SIY (sew it yourself) victim, can be left as a side note. 

Summery Colourful Palettes, we had to get one of each patterns (Pepper, Garden Wonderland, Primrose and Watercolor)

Coral Plumeti: the return



And once the Coral Plumeti Baby dress was "copied", having been the results so satisfactory*, we decided to make a coordinated dress for bird#2 (size 2yo). At casycoso we like to dress the siblings coordinated but not entirely marching, to give a bit of personality to each of them. We searched the net for some "likable" patterns. But ended up concocting our own. And this was the result.  

Front of the Dress

Coral Plumeti Frenzie

Granted! It is not an original…we have never denied when a dress or a knit inspiration was outsourced. But one thing is for sure: Man! Can we copy or what?

What do you think...too saturated?

 

Liberty Nostalgia

We are self-confessed obsessed with Liberty Fabrics. I recently discovered the hashtag #LibertyOfLondon 

it's awesome!

Nano's Autumn - Winter 2013 Inspired

I know, I know... How can I find about # just now?…We are still getting acquainted with social media...what matters is that we found it! The thing is that to see all those pictures of Liberty Fabric Swatches Stacks made us very nostalgic. I noticed that some of the fabrics we have used in the past were quite popular and I thought maybe someone might enjoy having a look at what we did with them, the same way that I would love to see what they sewed. 

What has everybody created with their Liberty Treasures?

There is one dress in particular whose pattern we loved. We made a winter dress for my birdie two years ago and repeated it last year in another color. Maybe you think Liberty is not appropriate for winter. Granted, it is a very thin cotton fabric, which in my opinion is precisely the beauty of it. But if you line it and wear it with a jacket, it is absolutely fine. Plus, it's got long sleeves, so it is adequate for colder days.

Front 

The pinkish one on the left its a size 12months (A/W 2012) and the green on the right was 2014 (24months).

Back 

I got the fabrics from the my fav London treasure cave, Shaukat. I mentioned them before, their stock is endless and their prices the fairest I know. But their web is not very inviting, because their pictures of the fabrics aren't very good neither in resolution, size or color adjustment. Nevertheless, if you know what fabric you are looking for, that is your site. 

Velvet Ribbon that ties on the back  

The original design included, and we copied, a velvet ribbon and bow on the back. It does not serve to adjust the contour, it is mere decoration. To us that is all for the best because we particularly dislike extra wide garments that require to be belt-up as to confirm that there is an actual person under them and not just a floating head over a blanket.

Plumeti Heamline Trimming

Both the cuffs and the heamline are trimmed with ruffled Plumeti. To us, the end look of the dress is so detailed that it just exudes an “I care about what I do” feeling that makes us proud.

Plumeti and Velvet Cuff Trims 

Both sizes are quite similar but not quite the same. The main difference is the arm seamline.

For the 1yo we overachieved. The raglan sleeve angled to the midpoint of the back rather than all the way up to the neckline. The sleeve was slightly gathered up on the shoulder to puff it up a little (a little we said!). This complicated not only the pattern but also the construction of the dress. Since we started the pattern from scratch, doing it this way, made it quite harder to ascertain the correct measurements for each piece and complicated slightly the sewing of the armpits. In conclusion, it took us a bunch of time to get the sleeves set in place right.

For the 2yo size we simplified it and we just cut regular fitted sleeves. We kept them, however, slightly puffed up at the shoulders. We promise you the difference went unnoticed. 

Valencienne Trimming and Arm Seam Details 

We included a  shirt-like piece for the chest front and back in Plumeti and trimmed it with delicate Valencienne Lace which is another weakness of us. The materials were expensive and it was hard to sew. We finished it by hand to cover up the seams, but it was well worth it! (in our modest opinion, of course).

I wish I could show you pictures of how it looks on, but unless I happen to catch my little model unaware, she thinks differently than to let me dress her in and out of several outfits more than once a day and to pose for the camera. It is an ultra cute dress, believe me and not too formal either.  

Disclaimer: as often the CasyCoso Case, this dress is based on a Nano’s 2013 Winter model.